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Tenants and advocates urge council to intervene after Campus Edge eviction notices; call for relocation assistance and public meeting
Summary
Multiple speakers during unscheduled appearance urged the council to compel Campus Realty Advisors to negotiate with tenants at Campus Edge and to provide relocation assistance after notices of demolition/eviction; speakers described unsafe building conditions, moving hardship and calls for rent protections and direct engagement with the owner.
Several residents and advocates on Wednesday asked Marietta's City Council to intervene after the owner of Campus Edge Apartments provided notice of demolition or tenant displacement.
Speakers described loosely coordinated tenant advocacy and urged the council to require the owner, Campus Realty Advisors (CRA), to meet with tenants and provide concrete assistance: pay moving costs, secure replacement housing at comparable rents for affected residents and place a cap on increases for any arrangement the company makes for relocated tenants. The speakers said some tenants have already secured new housing at substantially higher rents and some face medical or disability challenges that make rapid relocation difficult.
Kofi Stiles, speaking for tenant organizers, said tenants were living in increasingly unsafe conditions as the company prepared demolition and had received inadequate outreach or assistance. "Campus Edge tenants are being forced to find housing that is largely unaffordable," Stiles said, calling for the company to cover moving costs and to negotiate in good faith.
Ethan Mollenauer, another organizer, described tenants living with health and safety problems and with limited notice to relocate. He asked the council to bring CRA to the table and to demand accountability on behalf of residents who cannot easily attend council meetings.
Stefan, who organized with tenants, said portions of buildings had already failed and that some residents lacked the capacity to advocate for themselves. Speakers called for a formal, public meeting involving council members, tenants and CRA, and for a city-led investigation of maintenance and safety claims at the property.
What the council said: Councilmembers did not take formal action at the meeting. Staff and advocates discussed next steps and asked the council to consider convening a public forum with the property owner, a request advocates said would create a public record and provide an opportunity for negotiated relief. The council did not announce a date for such a meeting during the session.
Why it matters: Tenants said months-long displacement and sudden rent increases have created financial and health hardships for a population that includes students, young workers and families. Advocates pressed the council to use its influence to secure immediate relocation help and to require the property owner to directly engage with tenants in a public setting.
